Condiment shaker



Oct. 31, 1950 c, so s 2,528,093

CONDIMENT SHAKER Filed April 1, 1947 M 7 I /9 I /4 M L I F Z 7'INVENTOR. (faw /J 5 S mav mi flwz Patented Oct. 31, 1950 UNITED STATESPTENT OFFICE CONDIMENT SHAKER Charles E. Somers, Tampa, Fla.

Application April 1, 1947, Serial No. 738,540

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a condiment shaker, particularly a saltshaker, the object being to provide a cap removable from the bodythereof and apertured for the discharge of a condiment as is usual incondiment shakers and a means is provided to remove caked condiment inthe apertures and to disintegrate the upper surface of the body of thecondiment in the shaker body.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a condiment shaker showing my improvedmeans for prevention of caking of the condiment.

Fig. 2 shows an alternative form of the device.

Fig. 3 discloses another form of the device.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the means for breaking up the caked salt orother condiment.

The preferred form of the device is shown in Fig. l in which thecontainer I is provided with an apertured cap 2 having a threaded flange3 to engage in the grooves provided therefor at the upper end of thebody. The cap has a central aperture through which a wire l extends andon the outer end of the wire is a ball 5. At its inner end the wire isprovided with a loop 5 and a second wire I is provided with a similarloop through which the wire of the first loop extends.

Fixed to the end of the wire 1 is a disintegrator.

having a body 8 and. a series of sharp pointed wires 9 extendingtherefrom in various directions. By rotation of the ball end 5 thedisintegrator is caused to turn and may occupy various positions withthe wire 1 aligned with or at an angle to the wire t. Some of the wires,as for instance 8, extend upwardly at an angle to the vertical and bypulling the ball 5 upwardly these wires 8 engage the apertures 2 in thecap and by rotation clear the cap of caked condiment.

An alternative form of the device is shown in Fig. 2 which includes awire Ill to the outer end of which is fixed a ball I I. The inner end ofthe wire it] is bent upon itself to provide the loops i2 and [3. Thereis a disintegrator l of the same character shown at 8 in Fig. 1 which isprovided with a wire l5 having a loop [6 engaging in the loop E2 of thewire l0. Alike disintegrator I! has a wire [8 and the loop end of whichengages in the loop 13 of the wire ill. The disintegrators in Fig. 2 aresmaller than the disintegrator in Fig. 1. By rotation of the ball It thedisintegrators are turned about the vertical axis of the body I. Thedevice shown in Fig. 2 is particularly useful in large diameter saltshakers.

In Fig. 3 a disintegrator 19 similar to that shown at 8 in Fig. 1 isshown and has a wire 2D fixed thereto which extends through an aperturein the cap 2 and is rotatable by means of the ball 2! in the endthereof. This form of the invention is particularly useful in smallcondiment containers and the loops, such as shown at 6 in Fig. 1, aredispensed with.

With either of the forms of the disintegrator the same result isattained in that the caked salt at the surface of the body thereof isbroken up in fine particles that will pass through the apertures in thecap and in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the upwardly rojecting pins8' engage the apertures in the cap. By rotation of the ball end 21 amajority, if not all, of the apertures are freed from caked salt.

In shaking the device in the usual manner the projecting pins 8' tend tofree the apertures of salt and to disintegrate the body of salt withinthe shaker and further tends to remove salt adhering to the innersurface of the body.

It is believed obvious from the foregoing description and drawing thatmy improved device for breaking caked salt and preventing anaccumulationof salt in the shaker top is simple and inexpensive inconstruction and that the various features and objects of the inventionare attained by the structure shown and described.

Having thus briefly described my invention, its utility and mode ofoperation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A condiment shaker comprising a body having an apertured cap, a wirelike element extending through a central aperture of the cap, means atthe outer end of the wire like element by which it may be manuallyrotated, a half ball like element on the inner end of the wire likeelement having a series of ins projecting at various angles to the axisof said half ball like element whereby rotation of the said meansrotates the disintegrator and breaks up caked portions of the condiment.

2. A salt shaker comprising a body having an apertured cap for thedischarge of salt, a wire like element extending through the centralaperture of the cap, the inner end of the wire like element having apair of oppositely disposed loops, a pair of disintegrators each havinga wire like portion looped in the respective loops in the first namedwire like element, said disintegrato-rs each having a series of pin likeelements projecting upwardly and a series of pin like elements in thebody thereof extending at various angles to the supporting wire likeelements whereby on rota tion of the ball end, the disintegrators arecaused 3 to move in various directions relative to the first Numbernamed wire element. 509,135 CHARLES E. SOMERS. 647,769 687,979REFERENCES CITED 5 822,638 The following references are of record in the1,033,320 file of this patent: $323 3 3: UNITED STATES PATENTS 2121116Number Name Date 10 66,661 Williams July 9, 1867 4 Name Date McGlinchyNov. 21, 1893 Strawbridge Apr. 17, 1900 Chambers Dec. 3, 1901 VesterJune 5, 1906 Eu Daly Jan. 6, 1914 Stewart June 11, 1918 Watson June 15,1937 Beringer June 21, 1938

